Joint Media Release

11 December 2003

Australian Police for Bougainville

We are pleased to announce that Australia has offered to send a police team
of up to 20 personnel to Bougainville as part of our enhanced cooperation
package with Papua New Guinea.

These personnel are intended to work alongside members of the Royal PNG Constabulary
to help restore confidence in the police force on Bougainville, enhance its
policing capacity and assist with the future training and development of new
local recruits. We will also be providing some basic policing equipment to
ensure compatibility between Australian police officers and local officers.

Maintaining law and justice and an effective police force will be critical
to Bougainville's stability and future prospects. We welcome the recent
delegation of police powers to Bougainville authorities by the PNG National
Executive Council.

The Australian police are available to start work on Bougainville within
weeks. Australia will also work with New Zealand to improve police training,
facilities and community policing and to ensure that courts are operating
smoothly.

In consultation with our regional partners and with the support of the parties
to the peace process, we will now withdraw the small civilian Bougainville
Transition Team at the end of this year. The Transition Team has succeeded
in building confidence and facilitating the peace process over the past six
months since the withdrawal of the Peace Monitoring Group mid-year.

Over the next four years, Australia's development assistance to Bougainville
will also shift towards providing support for governance, essential services
and economic growth. Other international partners will be invited to contribute.

We urge all parties to conclude outstanding issues as soon as possible by
moving swiftly to implement the decision to destroy the weapons, finalising
Bougainville's constitution and by preparing for free and fair elections.

The decision to offer Australian police to Bougainville reflects recent progress
in the peace process including through the Kuri Resolution on Implementation
of Autonomy between PNG Government and Bougainville representatives and the
outcomes of an Australian-funded meeting on Nissan Island last month promoting
weapons disposal options.

This initiative was endorsed with the PNG government at the 15th Australia
Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum held in Adelaide on 11 December. The Papua
New Guinea Government will consult further with the Bougainville parties to
advance the issue.